State Agencies

VT USAR TF 1 Recognized as Outstanding Team

10 May 2018

Urban Search and Rescue Team recognized as Outstanding Team at the annual Public Service Recognition Ceremony.

Vermont’s Urban Search and Rescue team Task Force 1 was recognized as Outstanding Team at the Vermont Public Service Recognition Awards. Among other accomplishments, USAR TF1 team members deployed to Texas to assist with rescues following Hurricane Harvey.

The highly trained 90-person team is comprised of responders from agencies and departments around the state. The team provides unique and specialized emergency response services, including swiftwater rescue, structural collapse searches, confined space rescue, and trench rescue.

The team performs often-hazardous missions around Vermont, braving floodwaters and fast moving rivers to rescue those in danger, taking part in searches for lost people in the wilderness, and locating and rescuing those trapped under debris.

“USAR Task Force 1 members don’t work together full-time,” Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Thomas Anderson said. “Yet their cohesion and ability to work seamlessly during emergencies is a testament to their expertise, comradery, and dedication to training and their mission.”

Following the devastating Hurricane Harvey in 2017, a contingent of 15 Task Force 1 members deployed to Texas under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact to assist with rescue and response operations. The team was ready and on the road within six hours of the request.

“The speed with which the team was able to fully prepare speaks directly to the readiness and capability of the USAR Team to respond effectively to emergencies here in Vermont or out of state,” Commissioner Anderson said. “And while only 15 team members deployed, they relied heavily on their full team in their preparation, and support back home while they were on the ground in Texas. Vermonter’s should be very proud of the men and women of the USAR Team who risk their lives to save others.”

The Public Service Recognition Awards are part of Public Service Recognition Week, an event that celebrates and honors the men and women who serve the nation as federal, state, county and local government employees.